Local Spotlight: Ben Fogg

When Ben Fogg made the transition from teaching to being a school administrator, his biggest fear was that he would lose the opportunity to connect with students.

A friend of his in education told him, “You won’t, because you won’t let that happen.”

And now, about six months into his position as Assistant Principal at Saco Middle School, Fogg has found plenty of ways to connect with the students.

“That concern I had, I don’t have it anymore,” he said at an interview in his school office. “I always find ways to connect to students.”

One of the more notable ways he connected with students was earlier this month during Spirit Week – where students and faculty dress up according to the theme of the day. When he heard about Adam Sandler day, he saw an opportunity to use his creativity to validate students.

He said students involved in music programs may get overshadowed by students involved in sports or other programs. Fogg said he gravitated more toward sports when he was a child, but later in life became a musician, and music remains very important to him. He wanted to find a way to show students in music programs that they, too are supported.

On the night before Adam Sandler day, Fogg sat down and reworked Adam Sandler’s “Red Hooded Sweatshirt Song,” into a parody called “Bobcat Sweatshirt Song,” with lyrics focusing on Saco Middle School. The next morning, while his wife was walking their dogs, he recorded the song on his Mac Book and presented it that day at a school assembly which also featured the school’s jazz band and chorus.

His imitation of Sandler was pretty convincing, so much so that a few students thought it might be AI generated. The performance, though, was much more than Fogg getting to show off his Adam Sandler impression.

“When I heard about Adam Sandler day, I thought there may be an opportunity for me to try to engage students in music,” he said. “I reminded kids on the day of the assembly that music is a big part of my life, and music is big part of our world …. And we need to celebrate the arts, and our musician and singers.”

Fogg is comfortable speaking in front of the 620 students at Saco Middle School and their teachers, but public speaking wasn’t always his forte.

“I used to do stand-up. I got into stand-up comedy, not because I was a good comedian, but because I struggled a lot with anxiety. I thought, if I can get up on stage in front of people I don’t know, maybe that will reduce anxiety in other aspects of my life,” he said.

He acknowledged that there was a risk playing his parody song, and students may not have responded well to his Adam Sandler impression. However, he said sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone and take calculated social risks.

“If you don’t take small risks in your life, there’s not much area for growth,” he said.

He recalls many adults that inspired him, and he said he went into education to inspire and empower others. While he was able to use his creativity, everyone has a skill or an interest that can be used to connect with students.

The Spirit Week performance wasn’t Fogg’s first time impersonating Sandler. When he was a teenager at Biddeford High School, Fogg performed a skit dressed up as Adam Sandler’s character in the movie “Happy Gilmore.”

Fogg said he’s always admired Sandler’s ability to connect to people with music and comedy. He also admires Sandler’s ability to take his craft seriously, but not to take himself too seriously. He noted Sandler’s relaxed approach to fashion, prioritizing comfort over style and notably wearing hoodies to red carpet events instead of embracing the glitz and glamour that’s expected of people in the entertainment industry.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.